Rutgers not only campus to report voting problems

[AnIndependentTexan]

http://www.nj.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-7/109981021944860.xml?starledger?nnj

Sunday, November 07, 2004
BY KELLY HEYBOER
Star-Ledger Staff
On Election Day, Rutgers University sophomore Sean Thom waited patiently as a poll worker combed the voter rolls for his name at a Livingston College polling site.

Thom looked downcast as the poll worker came up empty. Though he had registered to vote in his first election in an on-campus drive last month, Thom, 19, assumed his form was not processed in time for Tuesday's election.


He was one of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of new voters at Rutgers who reluctantly filled out paper provisional ballots or walked away from the polls when their names could not be found at polling locations.

"I'm kind of disappointed," he said.

Rutgers and Middlesex County election officials are still trying to figure out what caused widespread confusion Tuesday on the state university's New Brunswick and Piscataway campuses.

The university joins a long list of colleges reporting similar problems. Though young voters went to the polls in record numbers this election, they also ran into a record number of obstacles, voting rights advocates said.

[Jersey Devil]

1. There was no voter suppression at Rutgers

I know several kids going there including one of my own. Sure there were mixups, mainly due to the fact that many of the kids did not registion until right before the 30 day deadline so that their paperwork did not get to the polls on time.

According to all the first hand stories I have heard the kids voted in large numbers (and naturally partied afterwards). They were all very involved in the election and had debate parties for each of the debates, sitting together in groups to watch that were followed by political discussion.